SEVERE staff shortages in some maternity units could be jeopardising the quality of care for mothers and new babies, a health watchdog said yesterday.

SEVERE staff shortages in some maternity units could be jeopardising the quality of care for mothers and new babies, a health watchdog said yesterday.

The Commission for Health Improvement warned that, at some NHS trusts, a shortage of trained staff had led to "un-manageably high" workloads for midwives and other specialists.

But CHI acknowledged that generally maternity units were among the best-run departments in NHS hospitals.

Liz Fradd, director of nursing at CHI, said, "In many of the hospitals, the maternity services are offering examples of good practice that the rest of the trust and the NHS as a whole should follow, especially in areas such as patient involvement and the management of risk.

"However, there is no room for complacency. Shortages of midwives, obstetricians and sometimes radiologists can jeopardise the quality of care for mothers and new babies."

Mary Newburn of the National Childbirth Trust said, "During the last decade there have been considerable steps to increase user involvement and provide more women-centred maternity care, due in no small part to hospital managers, midwives and doctors listening to the views of moth-ers."

The shortage of midwives and obstetricians potentially puts patients at risk and could lead to cancelled clinics.

And at some trusts, midwives were under considerable pressure and had to bear an unacceptable workload, the report said.

CHI's review is based on seven inspections of units published between September 2002 and January 2003 and 10 between November 2001 and January 2002.